Posts Tagged ‘Checklist’

I am a big fan of flow charts, process maps and checklists in streamlining and organizing work. While the downside is that you might miss important detail, I believe that the gains usually outweigh the costs in time saved and energy expended.

I previously highlighted Erik Heels’ excellent drawing that explains copyright law in my post here. IP law firm Bromberg & Sunstein has a useful flowchart for determining when U.S. copyrights in fixed works expire. Federal copyright law states that a work is “fixed” when it is embodied in a tangible medium of expression. If a work is not fixed, it is not eligible for federal copyright protection, although it may have protection under state law.

The Copyright Management Center at Indiana University offers a Checklist For Fair Use. U.S. copyright law basically defines “fair use” to mean that one can use a copyrighted work without infringing on the copyright.

Finally, on a more general level, Professor Lionel S. Sobel has produced a flowchart, a Copyright Navigator, a digital annotated concept map of the fundamentals of U.S. copyright law.